Since I’ve been out of town so much racing and MTB riding, it’s been a while since I’ve done the staple roadie weekend rides (Trinity and Outdoors). Ryan left on Friday to go to the Joe Martin Stage Race. Since I’m not really interested in (or fit enough to) race the NRC level road races, I stayed home.
Side note- a few of my M-B teammates raced the 3/4 race. They freaking KILLED it. Kathrine Williams pulled off a sweep, winning all 3 stages. Pam Tate wasn’t far behind, finishing 5th in the GC. We’ve got an awesome damn team.
Last week, my Quarq Cinqo finally came in. I’ve been without a powermeter since I got the Trek since the older wired SRM I have wouldn’t fit the bottom bracket. However, I can’t get it to stay calibrated, so I’m sending it back for repair on Monday. I decided I wanted to get back to training with power, so Friday night I put the BH Connect back together with the SRM.
Saturday morning came early (I stayed out a bit late with friends at Flying Saucer- my night to celebrate the once a week alcohol allowance I’ve imposed on myself for weight/training/health/financial purposes). I drug myself out of bed and started making breakfast. For some odd reason, after never liking them my entire life, I’ve recently started craving eggs for breakfast. Alton Brown’s omelette recipe is top-notch.
The ride got off to a slow start. Someone got a flat tire, and while we were standing around waiting, I made the comment that flats aren’t that bad, but I hate when someone decides that the 30 seconds following the flat change is the perfect time to attack and rile up the group. So, naturally, Bryant Funston did just that. He also glanced back at me at one point (I was about 15 feet from closing the gap to his rear wheel in a solo bridge attempt), smirked a bit, and took off like a scalded cat. I dropped back to the group. We caught him a few minutes later, and I made sure to tell him that he was a jerk (in the nicest possible way, of course).
Out of this group, Dale and Jarret were the only ones that survived the ensuing chase…
The remainder of the ride was tough. As a group, we rode hard as a group to the Galloway store. After a quick break, we headed towards home, though I was forced to stop at the park in Arlington when I started getting an unpleasant feeling in my gut. Must have been the beer. I finished the last hour of the ride alone in the headwind (a better option than what might have happened if I hadn’t stopped).
The rest of my day was spent laying around and occasionally snacking & napping. I replaced the chainrings on Ryan’s MTB crank. Torx bolts are lame. Mainly because we don’t have many Torx-head tools. Improvisation was needed.
Sunday, I wanted to get in a little more distance. I headed out the door to the Outdoors on Union around 8:00. After getting warmed up, I made sure to keep my wattage at a goo0d tempo pace. The group wasn’t huge, but it was full of tough love. Someone had a flat tire early on. He informed us that he didn’t bring anything to change a flat. We left him.
Once we left Watkins on the way to the General Store, the group turned on itself. Unlike the hard but cooperative effort of the Trinity group, the Outdoors ride is no-holds-barred, every man (and woman) for himself. I don’t always make it in with the lead group. However, this time I hung in. The power numbers I saw when I downloaded the SRM data at home made me smile a little.
At the General Store, I made a new friend. “Rooster” jokes abounded.
Instead of heading back in with the group, I headed east to ride home the long way. There was a tiny bit of a headwind, so I paced myself a bit. I figured the best thing to do was to start churning out some more good tempo. By the time I got to Arlington, I felt good. I actually felt really good, which is a wonderful thing at mile 65 of 85. I was hauling by the time I got back to town. Someone in an SUV with Memphis Runners and a “26.2” sticker on the rear window turned in front of me, forcing me to slam on my brakes to prevent a broadside collision. I gave them a giant “WTF” face and hoped to catch them at the next light. Jerk.
So that’s a roundup of a weekend of not much happening. Now I’m laying around with the dogs watching “Memphis Memoirs” on channel 10. I’m pretty stoked with some of the wattage I was able to put out this weekend. I also figured out that I love the BH. I knew the Trek just didn’t seem right. Don’t get me wrong… it’s an awesome bike, but I feel at one with the BH. It’s pretty amazing.